WE MADE IT! (Final Blog of 2017) (Patreon)

We say that every year but holy shitballs... this one was something else, especially in my world. But we got there in the end and I think we all deserve a break and a Happy New Year!

This is going to get lengthy by the way but I encourage you to give it all a read... just a heads up!

My Sincerest Thank You!) We have to start with: A Special Thank You TO ALL OF YOU GUYS for supporting the channel this year by pledging here on Patreon! I hope I've provided a quality service that you're happy with as this has been the backbone of everything the channel has seen this year and it's thanks to all of you: Long Time Backers and Newbies, those that moved on and those still here in the trenches with me. Plus, I can't forget and extended special thanks to all of those who've donated games and other items, created fan art and even simply stayed up to date with everything that's gone on this year. It's all very much appreciated and there are no words to describe it other than gratitude! I'm hoping to gain a platform to speak more on this topic in the new year but I'll divulge a little now for you guys because I feel like, I owe you 150% transparency for what you've all done for me this year.

 An End Goal) So sorry for the sappy shit, but...

I've just completed 3 years of doing YouTube full time, no school, no "real" job, only YouTube. It's the only thing that's ever really made a whole lot of sense to me and back at the end of 2014, I told myself that I just had to try and make this work, so that's what I did. My parents weren't impressed and because of this, "getting on with life" became a topic very much swept under the rug. Neither side wanted to talk about it because it was never a fun conversation so it was never spoken about. Long story short, while out shopping for the Sly videos, my mother asked me desperately what my plan was and I told her that "if I can't get somewhere in 3 years, then it wasn't meant to be. Give me one more year, no questions asked and if it doesn't work out, I'll step away (from full time)!"

So because of that, I really set myself up for failure this year because this WAS NOT the year to try and make anything on this platform. But despite that (probably because of my ego and pride), I decided that if this was going to be my last year (full time) that I'd make sure I went out as the fucking champion with the best videos people had ever seen. I really had a vendetta against the entire platform this year which led to some top quality content... but also a lot of pressure to succeed. And I didn't... and that sucks! Now don't fret, the channel was never going to go anywhere. My plan was to only step away from YouTube as a full time thing, taking it back to being a hobby. My problem with that is ALL the years I treated this as a hobby, it didn't happen. There was no motivation and no time for it. Right now, I can do 1 video each week very consistently, 2 videos if I've got games to test or some other side stuff happening. Not having all of my time devoted to this would most definitely result in 2 videos a MONTH if I was fucking lucky. And that's death for a channel, especially one trying to grow.

However, not all is so grim) Like I said, I do want to get into this in some kind of video form in the New Year so for now, I'll just say that all of this added pressure I put onto myself combined with a plethora of pre-existing conditions both diagnosed and newly discovered this year, the past two months have sucked... to a scary point. The most important thing for me to do right now is remove stress from my life which means that my end of year break is what I need right now. But along with that, speaking to my mother, that deadline to "get on with life" has received an indefinite extension for the time being. So please, no worrying about me. That lifted deadline alone earned me my first good night sleep in 2 months so the health is already on a strong recovery. All I want right now is to take a break and then come back next year, killing it out of the gate so... that's the plan! I know I'm still being kinda cryptic about all of this so just know that the channel is continuing as a full time operation into 2018, for an unknown amount of time. If we make it, HOORAY! If not, then hopefully I'll be ready for it the next time around.

NOW ONTO SOME LIGHTER CONVERSATION!
Check out this awesome spread of all the title screens featured in my videos this year, a perfect representation of growth!

*I told you this was going to be long!

Plans for the Holidays and Return Information) I'm officially on holiday as of writing this (ahead of time)! Of course, we still have Part Two of the Christmas Special to come later this week and the following week, there will be some Outtakes to end the year as always. Then for January, there will be a gap in content. At this stage, I'll be having 3-4 weeks to rest and rehab my brain. The first of those is solely to sit here, play some fucking games, watch fucking movies and try to tune out this world for a bit. The following week, I plan to spend on the beach, in a tent, sleeping like a god damn boulder and getting up early to exercise the fuck out of myself walking on the beach.

The following two weeks off are kinda out of my control as my parents will be home on break and family from around the country will be visiting so, filming and streaming are not an option during this time. However scripts and playing games for video purposes may start, I'm not sure yet. What I am sure of is that content will be back up and running before January is over. I've somehow already got most of next year's reviews figured out already, mostly because I want to finish Skylanders, I've got to do another Hawktober later in the year and there are a bunch of ideas I've had for a long time I want to get stuck into. Like I said though, I gotta fix my head first so I do apologize for the few weeks without content and generally not being as active as normal. I will, again like I said, be looking to go into all of that un-fun stuff I ranted on about in some form of video next year, really when I know more for myself about what is actually going to happen.

My Final Statement of 2017) Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has supported the channel over the past 3 years because it's been crazy to see this thing grow! I've met a lot of cool people and made a lot of friends, and I've had a lot of fun entertaining you BASTARDS! ;)

I look forward to bringing you more top quality content next year and until then... please: If anyone has ever told you that you can't or shouldn't do something if it's something you're truly passionate about. Use that as motivation and prove them wrong! That's my advice to all of you. I'm Square Eyed Jak and I hope you have a safe break and a great fucking New Year. Mad love guys, cheers! :D